Halcyon Days
by you're beautiful
Summary: As a neutral country of the current era of the pirates, Konohagakure banished anyone who ate a Devil Fruit due to the potential threat they would pose to the village. Unfortunately, a certain trio were no exception to this rule. —Team7Centric; Powerful!Sasu/Saku/Naru
1. Prologue

**Full Summary:** As a neutral country of the current era of the pirates, Konohagakure banished anyone who ate a Devil Fruit due to the potential threat they would pose to the village. Unfortunately, a certain trio were no exception to this rule. —SSN-centric

Desperate to find nakama, the trio were surprised when their last hope came in the form of the Strawhats, who suddenly entered their lives and deemed their existence important, and not insignificant like the rest of the Konohagakure citizens.

The trio are ecstatic, for they were accepted and loved for who they were, and not what they were cursed with. Follow the Strawhats crew and their new addition in the New World, on their quest to fulfill their dreams!

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**Halcyon Days  
**Prologue**  
**by _you're beautiful_

"Those whose character is mean and vicious will rouse others to animosity against them."_  
_- Xun Zi

* * *

**F**ifteen years ago...

It was to Anko's knowledge that Konohagakure was in a state of despair. Unfortunately, having been a neutral country of the Great Era of the Pirates, the village never received aid from the government. Being a very intelligent information collector, Mitarashi Anko had at least known this much. It has approximately been five years since the death of the infamous Pirate King, Gol D. Rogers. Even as a revolutionist, Anko had always wanted to taste the freedom that a pirate had. Sailing the seas, finding treasure... Not to mention, openly opposing the corrupt World Government. Nevertheless, Anko wanted to feel how it felt like to be a pirate.

"Mitarashi Anko," a deep and husky voice pulled her out of her reverie.

Anko whipped her head around to see the Leader of the Revolutionary Army, himself. Flinching, she cursed his unbelievably stealthy entrance. Considering the fact that she was once a renowned shinobi of Konoha, being successfully snuck on was an amazing feat. "Dragon," she acknowledged him with a small nod, before focusing her gaze back at the mountain vista.

"So, this is Konoha," Dragon mumbled, as he silently surveyed the country before him with solemn eyes. The once great Konohagakure was in a state of ruin. It was only two years ago since a new leader was chosen. Those two years were apparently all that it took for the major clans of Konoha to commence a Civil War amongst each other. Fire was a symbol of the country, but seeing as it was literally being destroyed due to the growing flames made it seem almost ironic.

Anko could only stare with disbelieving eyes. "This...was _his_ doing," She seethed through gritted teeth.

Dragon turned to her with a curious gleam in his eyes. "You seem to know the man responsible behind this mess—no, you seem to hold a grudge against him, considering the tone of your voice."

Anko's throat emitted a low growl, and she narrowed her eyes at Dragon. She heard rumors about his strange persona, but she had never ever considered that he would be this observant. She examined Dragon, as he walked towards the burning lands. Anko, as a proctor of the young ninjas once, was always very calculating. She was able to tell potential when she saw one, and she knew how to mould it to her liking.

But, Dragon was a case she had never seen before. Being an informant, it frustrated Anko to no end because she knew nothing at all about Dragon.

"Anko. Follow." Dragon commanded with a tone of finality.

Anko looked at him hesitantly, before she begrudgingly nodded. It has been a year since she's been at Konohagakure. The country it was now barely resembled the country it was prior to _his_ rule, and her blood boiled due to this. How he managed to seduce the whole country to do his bidding, she will never know. Although, seeing as there was a war within country only meant that the citizens, whether ninjas or mere civilians, have come to their senses.

"The fools..." She muttered, as she watched her world burn before her. The burning wood and flesh left a suffocating stench in the air that even Anko, a lifelong assassin, could not handle. She glanced at her leader, and noticed he was quite a few yards ahead of her, and she hastily quickened her pace.

"O-Oneechan...!" Anko lashed her line of sight from Dragon to the sound of the voice. The sight before her terrified her. There was an unrecognizable heap of burning humans, and a girl roughly around the age of eight, pitifully calling out to her from beneath the charred bodies. Anko knew the girl cannot be saved. Her petite body was most likely crushed below all the rubble and her singed hair was already acting as a fuse to end her life.

The girl shakily pointed at a dirtied pink bear that laid on a cemented area that was not affected by the fire. "P-Please...take care...of...Sakura-chan...!"

Anko knew Dragon's eyes were on her, but she did not care about duty before honor. To her, it was always the lives of the innocent that mattered most at times like these. Call it the instinct of a Konoha ninja. She approached the burning body of the young girl and she fell silent, as she hummed her prayers. Turning, she grabbed hold of the bear and continued to follow Dragon.

"That was quite a display," Dragon announced.

Anko sighed, preferring to not talk about the episode. "Could we...just get this mission over with?"

Dragon chuckled, and his eyes fell on her once more. "Ruin is the destination toward which all men who rush," He responded wisely, before continuing on his trek towards the battlefield.

Anko stared at his back, stunned, before she quietly agreed at his statement. The state of the country, Konohagakure, proved the statement itself to be true.

"Now, if you don't mind, brief me on the situation at hand," The Revolutionary leader, more or less, ordered his newly-recruited subordinate.

Anko found no reason to delay the inevitable and she spoke with a depressed tone of voice, "Konohagakure, as you may see, has been in a Civil War for a year and a half now—" She swallowed the lump in her throat, as she fought the urge to sneer. "—Now, the village was in quite a predicament with a pirate crew two and a half years ago, and fortunately enough a _certain_ man managed to defeat the notorious group of pirates. Seeing him as a hero, the man became a candidate of the role, Hokage. Eventually, he was given the title and he was inaugurated. The country was at peace, for they were under the protection of such a powerful man."

Dragon rubbed the stubble that was forming on his chin, and he silently gave Anko permission to proceed with her report.

"This peace lasted for a duration of six months. During the man's rule, he's shown himself to be quite...sadistic. Not to mention, the child abduction rate only seemed to increase daily. It wasn't long before an underground organization realized who the perpetrator was."

"The so-called Hokage."

Anko shook her head, yes. "The Hokage was responsible for the sudden descent of the infant population, and it was due to his obsession with Devil Fruits—well, to be more accurate, he wanted to achieve immortality through the consumption of what he had called the 'Eien Eien no Mi'. Now, the existence of such a fruit has never been confirmed," She paused, struggling with her choice of words, "The Hokage...was never a rational man, to begin with. To be honest, I don't quite know how he managed to become the leader due to his deranged ideology. He experimented on the children, without ever thinking about the consequences of his actions."

"What was the purpose of experimenting on innocent children?" Dragon asked, as he clenched his hands tightly.

Anko did not fail to notice this, and she approved of her leader's action. "He wanted to create an artificial devil fruit."

Dragon did not show surprise occasionally, and seeing it now only meant her and Dragon's thoughts on such a research were similar. "Ridiculous," the older revolutionist uttered, lost for words. The two walked silently, with the sporadic sounds of gunshots and clangs in the background. "Was he successful?"

The dark-haired woman harrumph. "He was not. It is an impossible task after all. Even with all the resources in the world, how can man create such a phenomenon, like the devil fruit?"

"It would be best to not underestimate a desperate man," Dragon replied, before proceeding to the main topic, "What happened to your Rokudaime Hokage, afterwards?"

"Punishment," Anko answered, her voice ecstatic, "That bastard was eventually forced to step down from his throne. He was to be executed before every citizen, but he escaped. To this day, we believe that he is still attempting to figure out the structure of the devil fruit."

Dragon shook his head disapprovingly. "I see...I could piece everything together now. The clans within your village are currently in this war amongst each other because of the opened Hokage title. Additionally, the reason why you've ambiguously appeared before Iva six months ago, could only mean that you wanted to redeem those children—or rather..." He looked Anko with a cryptic expression, "...you seek revenge. Tell me, Mitarashi Anko: why is an uncaring young woman, such as yourself, so hellbent on capturing this mad scientist?"

Anko stopped her tracks, and the stuffed bear was almost crushed beneath her grip. She looked at Dragon with such passion and rage, before she fell on her knees, tears pouring out angrily. With an animalistic cry, she shamelessly looked Dragon in the eye.

"BECAUSE I WAS HIS FIRST GUINEA PIG!"

Dragon's eyes widened, feeling sympathetic for the woman. He placed a firm hand on her shoulder, before he gave his promise, "We will capture this man...Orochimaru!"

Anko believed in every single word he said. _There is hope_.

* * *

**S**omewhere in the outskirts of Konohagakure, a man with snake-like features carried a slumbering infant in his arms. A white snake with protruding sharp scales and terrifying dilated eyes circled the man tentatively, hissing voraciously at the sleeping infant. The man chuckled, amused by his summoned companion's behavior around young prey. The man himself shivered as he stared at the infant.

The infant was two years old, and he was no mere civilian child.

The snake could only stare at the young boy with hungry eyes. "Isss he...?"

The man nodded. "Uchiha Sasuke, the son of the oh-so great Uchiha Fugaku, Chief of the Police Department," the man, Orochimaru, responded. He could not fight the urge to laugh triumphantly at his new catch, "Kukuku...The blood of a cursed Uchiha is now in my hands. There is no doubt about it. Uchihas are renowned for their durability and power, and an infant like himself will survive the tests he will undergo back in the lab."

"Artificial devil fruits," the snake trailed off, with a horrifying tint of lust for power in its eyes, "you really are an ambitious bastard, Orochimaru."

Orochimaru patiently corrected his summon, "Silence. It will not be ambition for long. It will become reality."

The snake snickered at its master's confidence. "It really is quite a shame...The older brother—Itachi, was it?—showed much more potential than this one. It's frightening, just thinking about it. Unfortunately, we are not the only ones who deemed him unique. It seems Fugaku took precautions and had some of his men constantly watching his heir."

Orochimaru chuckled. "Those Konoha ninjas are fools. What they call justice is nothing but a lie. Their justice system is made simply to look like it is the true path to righteousness, and anyone with different values is considered wrong. Hypocrites, they all are, especially the Uchiha clan. Justice and equality differ in many ways, and it's quite a shame that many hypocrites are unaware of the distinction."

"Quite philosophical, aren't you, Orochimaru?" The snake bowed, as a sign of respect, before it disappeared in a resounding pop.

"Kukuku, a man who is not passionate about his own beliefs, is a puppet to someone else's own," Orochimaru looked down at Sasuke's peaceful face, before a wicked grin formed on his lips, "An Uzumaki and a Haruno...now an Uchiha—" He disappeared in a pop of smoke, but not before he said,

"—Soon...I will be immortal."

**TBC.**

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**N**ext chapter on _Halcyon Days_

_Kizashi nodded, but he still seemed quite perplexed. "Orochimaru might be a renowned scientist, but how did he retain information of this knowledge? There are a selection of few people in this world capable of such things, like DNA replication."_

_"Your clan, right?" Koharu squinted her eyes at the Haruno clanhead._

_Kizashi looked offended. "Are you saying that my clan has something to do with Orochimaru's experimentations?"_

_Shikaku sighed. "This is not the time to be quarreling amongst ourselves," He stared at Kizashi with apologetic eyes, before he proceeded, "I regret to inform you this, Kizashi, but Elder Koharu is correct..."_

_"...what?" Kizashi uttered, his breath hitched in his throat._

_"Orochimaru had a Haruno under his wing. One of the four children, in fact..." Inoichi mumbled, afraid of the clanhead's response._

_"I—my—daughter—alive—" Kizashi sputtered, before he stood up, anger blazing in his eyes, "—THAT BASTARD OROCHIMARU DARE USE MY DAUGHTER?" He struck the table, and this time, it was destroyed under his powerful right fist._

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**notes: **Why must I be obsessed with cross-over fanfics? Anyways, I'm not really certain whether this story will be regularly updated or not. I wrote it in under an hour, because this plot was in my head for days! I hope you One Piece/Naruto fanatics enjoyed this prologue, and come back for more! Additionally, to avoid unnecessary arguments and, thus drama, later on, I will say this now: Pairings or Romance will not occur, and even if it does, it will be subtle. I also support no other pairings other than SasuSaku, NaruHina, ZoRo, and _especially_ LuNa. This story is strictly about Friendship, Family, and etc. Thank you for reading! Reviewing motivates me to work harder!


	2. I Home

**L**ast chapter on _Halcyon Days_...

"What was the purpose of experimenting on innocent children?" Dragon asked, as he clenched his hands tightly.

Anko did not fail to notice this, and she approved of her leader's action. "He wanted to create an artificial devil fruit."

...

"Quite philosophical, aren't you, Orochimaru?" The snake bowed, as a sign of respect, before it disappeared in a resounding pop.

"Kukuku, a man who is not passionate about his own beliefs, is a puppet to someone else's own," Orochimaru looked down at Sasuke's peaceful face, before a wicked grin formed on his lips, "An Uzumaki and a Haruno...now an Uchiha—" He disappeared in a pop of smoke, but not before he said,

"—Soon...I will be immortal."

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**Halcyon Days  
**I. Home**  
**by _you're beautiful_

"Chaos is inherent in all compounded things..."  
- Buddha

* * *

"Kizashi, I am in no position to say this, but...I believe that the children abducted seven years ago are dead—"

The sudden sound of a skidding chair resounded throughout the meeting room, as the mentioned man stood up and slammed his fist on the sturdy wooden table. He simply fumed in return, "I refuse to accept such thoughts, Koharu-baa!"

Said woman snarled, clearly annoyed by the display of disrespect, "That's _Elder _Koharu to you, Kizashi."

To the surprise of every clanhead present in the room, the most unexpected man to speak, more or less, agreed with the Haruno leader, "Haruno-sama and I share similar opinions on this matter. As the chief of the Police Department, it is my responsibility to capture criminals. Orochimaru, to our knowledge, abducted the children almost a decade ago. We have already retrieved the children prior to the abduction of—" Everyone noticed his hesitation, "—Uchiha Sasuke, Namikaze Naruto, and Kizashi's unnamed daughter. This shows that Orochimaru does not murder the children. If this is the case, why do you, _Elder_ Koharu, state such claims when you have no evidence to prove it?"

Kizashi nodded, breathing a sigh of relief, before taking a seat. He was visibly shaking, and it clearly illustrated his concern. He turned his head towards the Uchiha leader's direction and lowered his head, grateful, "Thank you, Fugaku."

The Uchiha merely crossed his arms below his chest. At this point, it was the Hyūga clan leader that spoke in behalf of the missing children, "According to the message delivered here by Sunagakure's fastest messenger hawk, Takamaru, the Revolutionary Army has made their country their base of operations. The man that saved our country, Dragon, has also left us a rather...arbitrary note."

The Yamanaka clanhead spoke this time, "Yes, yes...Dragon-san claims that he found Oochimaru's lab in the heart of Suna. Apparently, Suna's Kazekage has been dead for quite a while now...Seven years, to be exact."

Koharu exclaimed, surprise written on her wrinkled face, "Seven years? They were fooled for almost a decade! Those gullible—" Realization dawned her, and she seemed to have understood the situation, "—Are you saying that Orochimaru was the one responsible for the Yondaime Kazekage's death?"

Nara Shikaku, the renowned tactician of Konoha and leader of the Nara Clan, confirmed it to be true. "Orochimaru disguised himself as the Kazekage for seven years. If you think about it, it's not very surprising. We knew what that man was capable of. Additionally," he looked at the Haruno and Uchiha clanheads with caution, "Kizashi, Fugaku-san, it seems Dragon and Mitarashi Anko found four children in Orochimaru's laboratory. They were all in such terrible states, especially the oldest of them all: Gaara. He is also the son of Suna's Kage. Furthermore, he is currently being rehabilitated under the Revolutionary Army, due to severe trauma." He paused, knowing very well what the clan leaders' reactions will be when he states the following: "Also...Orochimaru succeeded in creating artificial devil fruits.

To say the least, if the situation was not dire, Shikaku would've laughed at their shocked faces.

"Nani?" Inuzuka Tsuba yelled, more or less, disturbed by the disclosure.

"What the hell? How the hell did Orochimaru manage such a feat?"

"This can't be true! If it is, all hell will break loose, not only in the Elemental Nations, but the world too!"

"I agree with Haruno-san! The world will be thrown in chaos!"

"Are Dragon and his subordinates still tracking Orochimaru?"

"This is what we've all feared—"

"Silence!" Mitokado Homura, the male elder of the village, ordered. Looking back at Shikaku, he signaled the man to proceed with the report.

"Right," The Nara leader coughed, before he continued, "As I have mentioned before that sudden...outburst, Orochimaru succeeded in creating artificial devil fruits. Gaara has reportedly consumed the Suna Suna no Mi. Strangely enough, Dragon also said that there is already a man by the name, Crocodile, whom also consumed the Suna Suna no Mi, years before Gaara did. You all know Crocodile, right?"

"Of the Shichibukai," Fugaku affirmed, his usually emotionless face, grim.

"Yes," Inoichi said. _I'll take it from here._ He mentally communicated with his childhood friend, Shikaku, "Dragon has stated that the only explanation behind this is that Orochimaru and Crocodile are acquainted with one another, which leads to the revelation that the Shichibukai or even the World Government know of Orochimaru's works. It's been said by Dragon that the blood of those who've consumed a devil fruit is what Orochimaru needed to create the artificial devil fruits. With the DNA sample, Orochimaru determined the codes that, the non-devil fruit eater at the time, Gaara needed in his genetic structures."

Tsuba grumbled, "This is all very complicated..."

Kizashi nodded, but he still seemed quite perplexed. "Orochimaru might be a renowned scientist, but how did he retain information of this knowledge? There are a selection of few people in this world capable of such things, like DNA replication."

"Your clan, right?" Koharu squinted her eyes at the Haruno clanhead.

Kizashi looked offended. "Are you saying that my clan has something to do with Orochimaru's experimentations?"

Shikaku sighed. "This is not the time to be quarreling amongst ourselves," He stared at Kizashi with apologetic eyes, before he proceeded, "I regret to inform you this, Kizashi, but Elder Koharu is correct..."

"...what?" Kizashi uttered, his breath hitched in his throat.

"Orochimaru had a Haruno under his wing. One of the four children, in fact..." Inoichi mumbled, afraid of the clanhead's response.

"I—my—daughter—alive—" Kizashi sputtered, before he stood up, anger blazing in his eyes, "—THAT BASTARD OROCHIMARU DARE USE MY DAUGHTER?" He struck the table, and this time, it was destroyed under his powerful right fist.

"Kizashi! Control your temper," Mitokado commanded, as Kizashi slumped back on his chair.

"This means my son is alive..." Fugaku whispered incoherently, but his relief was hidden behind his calm face.

Unfortunately, this did not go unnoticed by Tsuba, who only hummed in approval. _It seems our indifferent Uchiha clanhead isn't very indifferent after all._

"Can I resume with my report?" Shikaku questioned, annoyed. No one answered, but he continued nonetheless, "Anyways, no matter how talented Harunos are with the functions of the living organism, your daughter, Kizashi, was still a newborn when she was taken away. Although, Dragon found Orochimaru's log and all of his findings are in there. He called those who've eaten an artificial devil fruit, Emanon."

"A palindrome for 'no name'. Harsh..." Inoichi muttered, and Kizashi silently seethed.

Shikaku gave Inoichi a warning look, before resuming, "The Emanons, as he's stated in his log book, are merely existing for the sole purpose of being his guinea pigs. Anyhow, one of the four children, the Haruno, appears to have eaten an authentic devil fruit, the Chie Chie no Mi. In his log, Orochimaru states that he would have eaten such a rare fruit, if it wasn't for the fact that he's already eaten one."

"What is the power of the Chie Chie no Mi...?" Tsuba asked, fearing the answer.

Shikaku looked at the Inuzuka matriarch, a dismal aura suddenly circulating around the room. "...infinite knowledge."

"N-Nani..?" The usual arrogance that was almost always evident in Koharu's voice was gone.

"You heard right...The Chie Chie no Mi grants the power of unbelievable wisdom."

"How is this fearful, really?" The Civilian Representative thought aloud.

Uchiha Fugaku, for once in his life, was stunned outwardly. "Knowledge is power."

Kizashi's jaw was wide open. "My daughter...has been burdened with such a power..."

Shikaku felt the sudden tension inside the room. "Well, the truth is, it doesn't grant her the power to know everything. Really, she only remembers memories of predecessors that ate her devil fruit, therefore she is very intelligent and well informed. Unfortunately, do you know what else this means?"

Hyūga Hiashi was quiet, but he knew the danger that the girl would bring if she was brought back to Konoha. If what Shikaku said was true, then that means that the girl knew of the Void Century. The World Government had a law that forbade the study of the century, and yet this girl was said to have had over a millennium's worth of knowledge.

Shikaku knowingly looked at Hiashi, and he informed the already shocked committee with more shocking news, "The Haruno girl knows what occurred in the Void Century."

"THEN SHE WILL ONLY LEAD US TO AN IMPENDING GENOCIDE!" The Civilian Representative screamed, horrified.

"Say that again, I dare you." Kizashi growled, ready to pounce on the civilian.

Shikaku shook his head. "We will talk about the future of these children after we finish discussing about Orochimaru. Nevertheless, Orochimaru manipulated the girl into telling him various information about DNA replication, or in this case, devil fruit replication. The Haruno with her natural skills in biochemistry, and the addition of her devil fruit powers, became a huge benefactor of his tests. She was really the one who created the artificial devil fruits, that Gaara, son of Yondaime Kazekage; Uchiha Sasuke, Uchiha Fugaku's son; and Namikaze Naruto, son of the late Yondaime Hokage and Uzumaki Kushina, consumed."

Koharu stood, a serious expression gracing her wrinkly complexion. Her narrow eyes scanned the clanheads, especially Uchiha Fugaku and Haruno Kizashi, before she spoke, "Konohagakure is a country known for prohibiting any devil fruit eaters within our borders."

"But, they are still young—!"Kizashi retorted, in vain.

Koharu interrupted, "There are no exceptions, Kizashi. Devil fruit eaters have always ran rampant in our village and all they've ever brought upon us were great calamities. Have you forgotten the Civil War eight years ago? The Uzumaki clan's Kushina the Gumiho, whom ate the rarest form of zoan devil fruit, O-jū O-jū no Mi, Model: Nine-tailed Fox, obliterated the Hokage Monument. And, how could we forget Orochimaru?"

Mitokado hummed in agreement. "I think Koharu, here, has a good point. Devil fruit users are a nuisance. Thus, all in favor of the exile of Uchiha Sasuke, Namikaze Naruto, and the Haruno girl, raise your hands."

Out of all the fifteen major clanheads of Konohagakure, eleven raised their hands. The four clanheads who did not agree were Fugaku, Kizashi, Hiashi, and Shikaku.

Fugaku and Kizashi stood, and left, seething silently as the eyes of the Elders followed them.

"Koharu," Mitokado began, but Koharu knew what he was going to say.

"Yes, I have already informed Danzō. Those two will be under constant surveillance by Root."

* * *

Anko watched with mild curiosity as the young trio before her communicated via vigorously tapping on each other's palm with their fingers. She chuckled, before she thought aloud, "You brats are sure clever. You've already created a form of communication amongst each other. That would surely be useful in the battlefield—" There was a short pause, before she began to cackle, "—if the enemy was blind! The only thing your way of communicating will do is bore a hole in your palms."

The blond one; the Uzumaki, deadpanned, "Neesan, you're annoying."

A sudden vein throbbed on Anko's temple, and she looked just about ready to strike the boy. "You little shit..." She mumbled inaudibly.

The Uzumaki and the girl, snickered, whilst the Uchiha kept a straight face. Although, the gleam in his eyes clearly showed his amusement.

Meanwhile, Anko did not seem surprised at all by their personalities. It was common for Uzumakis and Harunos to be cheerful and rambunctious, and Uchihas: uncaring and cold. Strangely enough, Anko was amazed. Those brats must be really something, if they managed to get an Uchiha, more or less, _the_ Uchiha clanhead's son, to feel comfortable around them.

"You brats excited to live in your hometown again?"

The pink-haired one; the one Anko named Sakura, tensed up, before she nodded slowly. "If anything...I'm nervous..."

The Uzumaki looked down at his feet. "Not really...I have no family left."

"Hn," was all that the Uchiha said.

Anko looked uncomfortable, before she coughed awkwardly, "Oh...Well, I'm sure Sakura or Sasuke's families are willing to take you under their wing, Naruto. Don't worry."

Naruto only continued to look uncomfortable, but he nodded nevertheless. He raised his head to look at both Sakura and Sasuke who stared at him worriedly. "I'm fine, guys. I don't need you to pity me." He growled, his voice cracking.

Sakura did not look convinced, as she reached out to both Naruto and Sasuke's hands. "You two _are_ my family." She smiled softly at the two boys, whilst the blond blushed, and the other had a small smile on his face.

Anko was pleased at how these three turned out, considering the fact that the fourth child, Gaara, was so bloodthirsty and vicious towards others. She felt a little guilty because she had left him back at Sunagakure to rehabilitate longer due to his severe trauma. She was aware that Gaara quite liked her, and when she told him that she had to go to Konohagakure for business, the way his eyebrows crunched up in sadness melted her ice-cold heart. Nevertheless, she had promised him that she will return, and he believed her.

Upon seeing the gates of the Leaf Village, Anko glanced behind her and quickly signaled their guards to come out of the shadows to join them.

"We're home," Sakura mumbled, her breath hitched in her throat, as she watched the gates slowly open.

* * *

**TBC.**

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**N**ext chapter on _Halcyon Days_...

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**notes: **I didn't receive that many reviews, but no matter! I received quite an amount of favorites and follows. Although, I am very grateful to the few who did review! Arigato, you guys really made my day.


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